Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Jersey Shore State Bank's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

close

Find a Location

Jersey Shore State Bank has 2 locations, listed below.

*This company may be headquartered in or have additional locations in another country. Please click on the country abbreviation in the search box below to change to a different country location.

BBB accredited

Near

Country

USUnited States

Please enter a valid location.

Filter

• 

  Jersey Shore State Bank

  300 Market St Williamsport, PA 17701-6300

• 

  Jersey Shore State Bank

  PO Box 5098 1155 Main Street Jersey Shore, PA 17740-5098

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/14/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I was being charged 38.00 dollars for overdraft fees excessively in a cluster over debit card transactrions. When I tried to figure out what charges were specifically causing the overdrafts, it just snowballed out of control. My VA Disability Compensation is direct deposited into my account each month and my primary bills are taken out shortly after. Whenever I have a question about my balance or the nature of the fees collected by the bank for overdrafts, ******** ********** lectures me about keeping a ledger. I've had a significant change in my income recently, I managed to pay off some accounts and even had a couple of larger expenses that were not typical but needed to be addressed over the past couple of months. I never expected to see my account go into overdraft by more than 300 dollars before my VA compensation even was deposited. I asked that the bank have some compassion and empathy about this and refund the clusters of fees because the online banking is not showing me what specifically is causing the overdrafts, all I know is that they are not checks written by me or by ACH debits, but rather by my debit card. I have spoken to a couple different managers and they are totally unwilling to do anything about it and have opted to close my account on September 7th, 2023. This complicates things even further for me since I have to find another bank institution and then update the VA and hope my deposit goes to the right account. I also have to make arrangements for all the rest of my deposits/debits.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/25/2023

  Dear ******************,
  
  We have reviewed the issue the customer lodged in their complaint filed with the BBB in the letter dated August 15, 2023.  Since opening the account in December of 2021, the account has incurred a total of 20 NSF fees, six of which have been refunded. Shortly after opening the account, the first overdraft occurred in January 2022 because of a recurring debit card transaction. The customer did execute an Overdraft Services Consent form whereby he elected not to have the bank pay overdrafts on any ATM or everyday (POS) debit card transactions.  This consent form, however, states that this service does not cover authorized “recurring debit card transactions” which are the transactions that have resulted in overdrawing the account. 
  
  As noted in the complaint the customer has acknowledged that he has struggled to maintain a positive balance.  As a result, various branch employees have provided the customer with guidance on ways to manage his account balance to avoid overdrafts.  They reviewed with the customer the specific transactions resulting in the overdrafts and recommended he evaluate them for consideration of cancellation.  In addition, branch representatives encouraged the customer to utilize a check register as a measure of tracking these transactions for assessment of his available balance.
  
  Over the course of his relationship with the bank, the customer has been belligerent and combative with the branch staff when they attempt to help the customer understand what is causing the account to overdraw.  Currently the bank feels it has exhausted all options to assist the customer with the situation, and because of concerns regarding his behavior toward branch employees, the bank has made the difficult decision to terminate its relationship with this customer.  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/25/2023

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  1. The bank has NOT refunded 20 NSF fees in the course of the life of the account. they only do "Three per year." That has been their policy and bases for refusing to refund them to me. It is in the recent months since July, that I have had clusters of NSF fees and they were centered on charges from a DEBIT Card, not ACH transactions or handwritten checks bouncing off a negative balance into overdraft.
  2. The dashboard of the web-based account management does NOT provide information about WHAT is causing the overdrafts, and most of my reoccurring debits are under 30 dollars, not even equal to the 38 dollars per NSF fee. The most recent cluster of NSF fees was in excess of 400 dollars which put me in the hole before my VA compensation deposit was made for the Month of August 2023. This is the worst case of them in the history of the account, hence my reaction that was justified leading to my next condition---
  3. I called them with an even-keeled attitude that deteriorated due to how frustrating two of the employees were that I had to deal with on the phone. I sent messages to them via the chat on the web first, describing the unique circumstances and asking them for some compassion in their exercising their inability to refund more than three NSF fees per year (policy). Instead of using any kind of empathy, I was lectured on how to keep a ledger. This just made me angry and more frustrated. The fact that my account was almost 500 dollars in the hole at the beginning of August this year, threw off my entire budget for the rest of the month. It's a snowball effect that I asked them (and they do have the power) to refund. They not only refused categorically, but they don't WANT to help, as evidenced by their refusal to help, and their responses to my complaint here. So much so, I don't even want to go to the branch because I feel very uncomfortable doing so. I had to pull out my last 40 dollars from my account at the Montoursville branch, yesterday, so I could suppliment my groceries I needed and float me through the coming week until my next scheduled VA deposit for September.
  Summary: The whole point of this complaint is that they are taking money out of my account in excess over NSF overdrafts they CHOSE to pay out on DEBIT transactions. The branch manager blamed the computer system for randomly paying off "some reoccurring debit card transactions" that i still have no idea which ones they are. It is next to impossible to understand what is going on with the account on their online web banking because, many times, the transactions go into pending status for several business days before they clear, thereby muddying the clarity of what is going on with the ledger balance of the account. They branded their response with the accusation that I have had 20 NSF fees over the "course of the life of the account" when, in fact, most of these fees have come out of my account in the PAST TWO MONTHS! 
  
  This is totally unacceptable, and they have plenty of money from doing business with thousands of other accounts. Their inflexibility to help a client in need is deplorable. Not only that, it took the better part of a year to figure out my login ID to even get into my online banking on the web. I had to call countless times to get assistance with the website and the app (when I had an active cell phone account--which currently I do not as part of my "cutting costs"). 
  I, as a client, should be able to click on the transaction and corresponding NSF fee to determine WHERE the overdrafts are coming from. If you don't have access to the online banking app in real-time, you don't find out what is over drafting or if there was even an overdraft until the message comes in the form of a letter through US Mail. And in our town, our unique letter-carrier situation is that all mail sent out to addresses even in our same zip code first go all the way to Harrisburg before coming back to Muncy! So it can be several days before any of these transactions are even entering my "radar" of having transpired before I can even do anything about them, let alone cancel whatever the transactions are that are causing the bank to assess and pay them out causing the clusters of NSF fees that put me even FURTHER into the hole.
  This is a situation that is not entirely to blame on me. They have had more than their fair share of causing more damage to my financial situation than I would have been responsible for on my own. The lack of common sense in this has created an extremely frustrating situation for me, I could care less about their feelings. I told ********, the branch manager, and then *******, her assistant, that I don't harbor customer loyalty to any company that rips me off. Far too often, banks and insurance companies--and other unaccountable businesses--are using "policy" as an excuse to not service customers and continue to rip them off. They don't incur extra expense from servicing my account if they simply don't overdraft and just bounce debit card transactions. It doesn't involve any human interaction until the customer decides/discovers there is a problem. And when my budget has more than 400 dollars eliminated from it due to excessive NSF fees in clusters, I would think that a call or even an email from a branch employee would be in order. Robo calls from the automated "fraud center" sometimes are sufficient, but in this case, it was not effective and even confusing.
  I cannot fix or make adjustments to spending if I don't know what is causing the overdraft. That is something that the website developers for the institution (JSSB/Pennwoods Bank) need to correct. 
  Meanwhile, I want the NSF fees returned. I have bills to pay that are behind because of this situation. I will NOT accept being penalized for my exercising of my right to express my righteousness in my complaints. I suffer from PTSD connected to my military combat experiences. I exercise a great deal of restraint over a long period of time before I totally lose it. I assure you, that my complaint here, demonstrates my demeanor at the limit of what they have experienced over the phone. And during my visits to the Muncy branch, I have NEVER lost my temper with anyone, in fact, the tellers were always more than willing to help as policy would allow. However, phone conversations with a couple of "key management" personnel have been less than pleasant due to some of the attitude they expressed toward me, thereby leading me into my current level of disappointment and dissatisfaction with this institution, of which, I will NOT recommend to my family or friends, personally or professionally.
  As in life, people are mirrors. They reflect the attitudes projected upon them. I never initiated a conversation with a negative attitude. For them to say otherwise is preposterous. It's been three or for individuals who have initiated and attitude with me that triggered my displeasure with them, and I assure you, I never became threatening to any of them. I simply said to ******** the last time we spoke "you are either going to help me, or you're not. I don't want to discuss this further." She took that as a cue to cut me off from further banking services and sent me a letter that wasn't even on company letterhead. It was PERSONAL. She was pissed off. That is not PROFESSIONAL. And for that reason, above all else, I demand refund of all the NSF fees from the past two months. 
  The real shame of it is that I am expecting a significant deposit from the VA for backpay owed from the past five years. it is to happen sometime between now and thanksgiving. This is due to an appeal that I placed on a decision the VA made in 2018. So JSSB is going to lose considerable amount of business from me in the future. I was hoping that they, being a smaller bank, would be able to be flexible and accommodating for my future plans for my home improvement projects since I paid off my house. I even told ******** and ******* this and it meant nothing to either of them. ******* told me he was going to look into this and call me back--the conversation was pleasant and professional--but then he never called back. That speaks volumes to me. 
  
  Regards,
  
  *******************

  Business Response

  Date: 09/12/2023

  The bank stands by its original response, dated August 25th,2023. 
  
  Upon further review of the account, as a matter of courtesy,we have refunded another 4 NSF fees (as of 9.12.2023), totaling 20 incurred fees over the life of the account, with 10 being refunded to date.
  
  We further stand by our decision to exit the banking relationship, which has been made known to account owner, and we are actively moving towards this resolution.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/02/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On the day of the 12th I realized that a company called **** was trying to build me and my fiance's credit card that was on file. My fiance called me and told me to call my bank and let them know that this company is trying to force a payment out of our account and do not let it go through. I did just that I believe it was on the 14th I called in and spoke with a customer service rep and explained that I did not want this payment coming through and that I do not want anything coming out of my account from this company. I was told nothing can be done until they try to take something out and then I shouldn't worry as of now. So just like expected the company was paid out of my account on the 21st through my bank even though I gave fair warning that I did not allow this payment to go through. The staff there has been nothing but difficult debating that I possibly allowed this payment to go through even though I called in and told them not to let it go through. I already have cable there was no need for **** to build me that's why we canceled our subscription.. not only that only money I had in my account was for my rent so there's no way I would have ordered this program but they seem to think that it's okay to be billed $300 something dollars for not even a month of service through this company.. I work at the local high school and I am the recreational director of ************ I have been with this bank for almost 30 years you would think that my word would be taken seriously. I'm down in the process of getting late fees for my rent and now I have an eviction notice because of this process through this bank they refused to give me my funds back. Every time I ask about it they just basically blow me off like it's no big deal and meanwhile all of my bills are bouncing I'm getting over fees late fees and this Bank refuses to fix this problem. I even know people at the bank personally I never thought that this bank would be giving me this type of treatment after me being a long-term customer. I am demanding a refund from this company

  Business Response

  Date: 03/13/2023

  March 10, 2023 
  Dear *** *******, 
  We have reviewed the issue the customer lodged in their complaint filed with the BBB in the letter  dated March 3, 2023. The functionality of the POS platform (point of sale transaction - debit card  purchase) does not have the capability of processing a stop payment to avoid a transaction from hitting  a customer account. The customer must wait until the charge posts to their account and then submit a  dispute. Once the transaction hit the account, the customer did call in and file a dispute. A credit from  the company was processed 11 business days after the transaction originally hit the account. This credit  was processed by the merchant rather than a provisional credit from the bank. At the time the  customer filed the dispute, the following information was shared. Our investigation determined the  transaction was authorized by the customer and not fraudulent as alleged by the customer.  
  During the dispute investigation process, the bank learned the charge was related to a free trial the  customer did not cancel in time. The customer contacted the merchant requesting the transaction be  canceled before it hit the customer’s account. However, the merchant was unable to cancel/reverse a  POS transaction. The customer then contacted the bank requesting a stop payment, which as noted,  could not be completed. As a result, the transaction hit the customer’s account on 2/21/2023 and the  account became overdrawn because the credit processed by the merchant did not come through the  customer’s account until 3/8/2023. The bank did refunded the overdraft fee incurred.